2012 Australian Grand Prix

Analyse the Australian Grand Prix with the interactive lap chart and race progress charts.

As was often the case last year, Mark Webber made a poor start, losing four places. It could have been even worse as he made contact with two other cars, fortunately not picking up serious damage.

The Ferrari drivers started 12th and 16th but by the end of the first lap they were sixth and ninth.

The were aided by several drivers in front of them hitting trouble. Romain Grosjean and Nico Hulkenberg were out within the first two laps, and Daniel Ricciardo and Bruno Senna dropped back following contact at the first corner.

Kimi Raikkonen gained ten places during the race – three in the final lap – to finish seventh.

Only half of the top ten finishers started the last lap in the position they finished.

Pastor Maldonado put his Williams in the barriers while running sixth. Behind him Sergio Perez and Nico Rosberg made contact, and Raikkonen moved in to take advantage.

Lap chart

This graph shows the position of each driver on every lap of the race. Show and hide drivers using the controls below.

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/charts/2012drivercolours.csv

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Lewis Hamilton

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Jenson Button

2

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Romain Grosjean

3

6

Michael Schumacher

4

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3

Mark Webber

5

9

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Sebastian Vettel

6

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6

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Nico Rosberg

7

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12

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9

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12

Pastor Maldonado

8

7

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9

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Nico Hulkenberg

9

Daniel Ricciardo

10

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9

Jean-Eric Vergne

11

16

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12

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9

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13

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Fernando Alonso

12

8

6

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6

5

4

8

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5

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7

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5

Kamui Kobayashi

13

11

10

10

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7

14

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6

Bruno Senna

14

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Paul di Resta

15

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13

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15

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10

Felipe Massa

16

10

9

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9

15

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Kimi Raikkonen

17

13

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12

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6

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2

9

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Heikki Kovalainen

18

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Vitaly Petrov

19

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Timo Glock

20

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Charles Pic

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Sergio Perez

22

12

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Race progress chart

This graph shows how far each driver was behind the leader on every lap of the race, in seconds. Show and hide drivers using the controls below.

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/charts/2012drivercolours.csv

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Lewis Hamilton

1.358

2.241

2.457

2.673

3.135

3.398

3.469

3.806

3.973

3.677

3.309

3.413

3.324

3.415

3.5

0

1.941

9.327

9.84

11.193

11.446

11.416

11.861

10.9

10.208

9.649

9.52

9.566

9.496

9.415

9.67

10.435

10.803

10.896

10.89

17.898

13.978

1.983

1.738

2.65

1.018

3.293

4.228

4.531

4.689

4.54

4.82

4.199

4.297

4.458

4.461

4.341

4.405

4.749

4.8

5.254

5.054

4.075

Jenson Button

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

14.118

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

6.961

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Romain Grosjean

4.466

Michael Schumacher

2.738

4.451

5.503

6.393

7.768

8.998

10

11.306

12.127

13.381

Mark Webber

6.072

8.597

10.143

11.597

12.492

14.14

15.347

16.614

17.444

17.552

18.62

19.594

20.163

39.151

44.674

37.126

15.912

15.208

17.046

17.109

17.366

18.398

19.981

19.826

20.044

20.827

22.103

23.534

25.548

27.717

31.064

30.565

30.274

29.573

28.514

15.811

22.635

3.498

2.779

3.3

1.475

3.932

4.922

5.414

5.447

5.608

5.779

5.244

5.609

5.561

5.417

5.084

4.881

5.444

5.479

6.071

5.771

4.547

Sebastian Vettel

3.765

5.511

6.009

7.026

8.216

11.598

12.044

12.552

12.658

13.744

13.364

13.044

12.656

12.177

11.282

26.236

12.277

12.202

11.666

11.731

13.295

12.742

13.076

12.557

11.825

11.729

11.948

11.901

12.195

12.004

12.233

12.695

13.01

12.864

12.514

0

2.275

0.994

0.834

1.321

0.69

2.561

3.471

3.824

3.825

3.844

3.915

3.373

3.579

3.754

3.593

3.236

2.981

2.871

3.221

3.624

3.303

2.139

Nico Rosberg

3.402

6.222

7.697

9.063

10.409

13.121

14.095

14.951

15.571

15.785

17.404

37.189

43.307

42.473

41.282

34.31

13.973

14.498

16.418

16.492

16.653

17.453

18.974

19.424

19.475

20.173

21.692

23.141

25.186

27.441

49.395

58.484

58.318

58.063

57.772

44.574

40.353

9.477

6.516

7.641

3.241

6.685

8.378

9.88

10.755

11.982

13.091

14.111

15.756

17.234

18.655

21.807

22.614

24.347

25.709

27.902

30.672

57.642

Pastor Maldonado

4.948

8.391

9.61

10.547

18.004

18.983

20.613

22.472

23.588

23.503

23.07

23.258

23.398

23.178

22.819

36.848

22.755

21.765

21.185

20.922

20.649

20.557

21.56

24.763

24.362

24.35

24.717

25.476

26.18

28.058

31.525

31.998

32.271

32.394

32.088

19.913

28.317

7.561

5.267

5.481

2.534

5.29

6.969

7.802

9.176

9.606

10.153

10.07

11.449

12.834

13.426

13.695

13.825

15.001

16.277

17.803

19.14

Nico Hulkenberg

Daniel Ricciardo

58.069

68.755

70.55

71.619

72.939

73.878

74.676

76.299

76.959

77.229

77.067

77.406

77.456

77.407

77.952

75.27

58.447

59.689

61.161

63.247

65.711

87.601

97.212

97.45

97.648

98.272

98.778

99.187

99.171

98.957

105.394

106.726

107.406

107.582

107.156

105.016

103.721

57.079

20.527

16.666

6.186

11.657

13.669

15.277

17.331

19.216

22.571

22.898

23.486

25.017

25.604

26.187

26.655

28.441

30.343

31.98

33.826

39.556

Jean-Eric Vergne

12.835

17.34

19.149

20.585

22.686

24.236

26.049

27.975

29.241

30.721

32.663

34.8

35.878

36.165

36.06

30.142

10.96

13.803

37.842

43.954

43.526

42.738

41.876

41.122

40.122

39.977

42.002

45.846

47.347

48.207

60.776

61.061

61.353

61.061

60.621

48.602

65.874

22.423

11.39

12.558

4.858

9.312

11.67

13.683

15.449

17.308

19.804

21.318

22.69

24.351

24.643

24.87

25.497

27.825

29.721

31.474

33.645

39.848

Fernando Alonso

5.469

7.921

8.652

9.707

10.943

13.477

14.44

15.781

16.28

16.41

17.865

18.772

35.76

41.068

39.516

32.48

12.982

13.96

14.246

14.513

15.145

16.92

17.249

17.218

17.12

17.863

19.072

19.964

20.686

21.38

22.945

24.165

25.216

44.553

50.737

38.204

32.153

6.55

4.32

5.04

2.046

4.805

6.309

7.055

8.273

8.591

9.395

9.553

10.789

12.071

12.528

12.758

13.227

14.205

15.454

17.292

18.573

21.565

Kamui Kobayashi

7.616

11.379

13.341

18.155

19.662

21.403

22.688

23.911

25.951

28.281

30.031

31.257

54.454

59.579

57.829

50.702

31.79

31.567

31.478

31.703

32.021

32.187

32.725

33.342

36.458

37.852

39.867

41.424

42.43

43.277

44.4

45.413

46.316

47.198

47.972

57.202

59.406

16.078

9.219

10.199

3.876

7.228

9.031

10.781

11.882

13.064

14.519

15.485

17.171

18.548

19.585

22.215

24.407

26.409

27.384

29.387

32.277

36.766

Bruno Senna

37.629

46.563

49.454

52.691

55.447

57.854

60.044

62.845

64.48

66.178

67.551

68.802

70.615

71.79

71.241

65.532

47.204

48.703

50.672

52.38

54.078

55.579

57.043

58.855

61.227

63.268

65.613

68.059

70.129

93.251

103.072

105.932

106.4

106.283

105.875

103.117

101.881

34.97

16.512

14.406

5.947

11.993

14.568

16.177

17.823

19.83

101.419

111.193

111.967

114.108

117.528

118.6

Paul di Resta

11.585

14.353

16.77

19.061

21.677

23.518

25.095

26.726

27.945

29.493

32.195

33.885

55.653

61.334

60.255

53.788

34.075

34.478

34.681

35.905

36.357

36.574

36.741

37.05

37.894

39.278

41.413

45.419

46.729

47.727

49.14

50.217

71.977

78.759

78.46

66.37

65.492

17.451

9.965

11.391

4.443

8.861

11.257

13.425

15.039

17.067

19.225

20.72

22.494

26.781

28.123

29.454

30.563

32.357

33.603

35.163

36.03

39.737

Felipe Massa

7.45

10.944

12.705

14.817

17.041

18.555

19.939

22.076

25.178

27.502

47.451

53.418

52.756

52.302

52.29

46.271

27.185

28.021

28.69

29.73

30.569

31.427

32.158

33.126

35.324

37.152

41.111

65.072

72.663

73.547

74.525

75.738

76.946

79.932

80.864

71.296

89.022

32.078

14.896

13.39

5.467

11.077

13.101

14.928

17.102

19.028

Kimi Raikkonen

9.196

12.413

14.806

18.578

20.476

21.937

23.419

24.491

26.27

28.823

30.604

31.602

33.425

32.327

31.135

25.048

5.647

6.47

28.222

34.488

34.147

33.595

33.512

33.948

35.684

37.312

37.569

38.18

38.467

38.775

39.562

40.313

40.534

40.266

39.98

27.145

38.388

11.974

8.184

9.056

3.695

7.939

10.479

11.917

12.996

13.948

16.081

17.129

19.094

19.995

20.846

22.583

25.064

27.116

28.536

30.172

32.837

38.014

Heikki Kovalainen

13.754

18.03

22.764

27.289

31.845

36.527

38.917

41.032

42.778

44.713

45.998

48.252

49.746

71.317

79.163

74.897

56.305

57.314

59.212

61.029

62.795

64.553

65.87

66.937

68.126

69.667

71.566

73.979

76.188

78.378

81.736

84.3

87.64

112.427

121.905

127.208

182.442

156.425

Vitaly Petrov

16.565

20.763

23.892

27.767

32.579

36.945

39.732

42.14

44.009

45.912

47.079

48.502

50.522

51.552

51.097

45.511

26.986

50.639

57.992

60.243

61.08

63.221

64.225

65.471

66.482

67.73

69.001

70.922

73.883

75.849

77.538

79.721

84.239

86.189

Timo Glock

11.555

17.116

22.457

26.902

31.597

36.325

42.084

46.081

49.531

52.715

55.766

59.041

62.044

64.813

66.851

63.862

47.04

51.447

55.743

82.83

95.032

97.564

100.325

105.554

108.24

115.454

120.192

123.046

126.631

130.385

136.076

141.6

147.702

151.729

156.367

191.036

195.939

157.796

141.229

79.236

33.841

37.539

41.225

45.509

49.745

53.99

61.699

65.94

70.356

74.905

79.579

84.316

88.643

98.801

106.33

116.584

136.105

Charles Pic

16.468

23.339

28.394

33.502

39.14

44.115

48.723

53.108

56.91

60.451

63.912

67.408

70.594

74.342

76.683

74.279

60.236

64.777

68.945

73.299

99.173

113.83

119.501

123.144

127.048

131.77

139.252

144.326

151.641

163.188

171.008

177.582

183.118

189.669

248.694

288.1

311.814

263.624

219.206

156.803

111.353

116.595

122.28

127.343

132.134

141.121

148.026

153.08

158.828

168.29

193.051

216.96

230.135

Sergio Perez

7.992

11.878

14.311

16.697

18.473

20.402

21.451

23.486

25.38

27.732

31.37

32.415

33.705

33.65

32.978

26.753

6.898

8.578

9.492

11.035

14.691

16.843

21.177

44.987

52.463

52.487

52.373

53.098

53.073

53.004

52.965

53.131

53.083

52.474

51.594

38.877

33.483

8.286

5.899

6.141

2.885

6.076

7.717

8.871

9.772

10.601

11.928

13.211

14.928

16.653

18.3

19.712

21.063

22.987

24.901

27.526

30.141

39.458

Race pace notes:

Before the safety car came out Jenson Button enjoyed a lead of around ten seconds. More than half of that came as Lewis Hamilton got stuck behind Sergio Perez after his first pit stop.

Comparing the gap between Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso from laps 17 and 41 shows the amount of work Ferrari have to do to get on terms with the front-runners.

+ Maldonado showed good speed. Many times he was faster than Button
+ Perez ran many laps as fast as the leaders. Great potential!
+ Kimi was almost as fast as leaders when he was not behind slower cars. Great potential!
– Alonso really was slow with his Ferrari. This shows how he did manage to get absolutely best out of that slow Ferrari today.

McLaren is fastest
RBR not far behind
Merc potentially fast, but has tire issues – maybe on regular track they don’t suffer so much
Lotus potentially fast, extremely good tire performance. They can squeeze more speed out because of that!
Sauber – same as Lotus, probably a bit slower
Williams – a lot faster than Ferrari, but probably slower than Lotus, Merc and even Sauber?

Foce India and Toro Rosso – somewhere

Great season ahead. We will see teams gaining and loosing speed as they learn more about tires and the cars.

You can see quite clearly how badly Lewis lost out after the first stop. not only did he loose time to Jenson, but it ultimately allowed Vettel to catch up to him. Both mclaren drivers look pretty similar.

You can also see how much the safet car slowed Lewis lap while Vettel could drive at full speed to the pit lane. Pretty much everyone elses lap was much slower when the safety car came out except Vettel. All the people around me where like “what thats rediculous!”

I was standing at turn 2 and i was trying to understand why Vettel was allowed to dive so fast under a full course yellows when everyone else slowed down.

Vettel was well over halfway round the lap so he had less distance to travel at the reduced speed. Also, as Lewis was limited to his speed behind the SC, the pit lane time loss was not the usual 25 seconds, perhaps only 10-15, Vettel was close enough to Hamilton anyway so that a 10 second swing like that would give Vettel the place.
It was fortunate for him but it might work out opposite in future.

if he had started better, he wouldnt have the problem. 1st driver in team gets first treatment in pits. not only did he start bad, he lost 3 seconds to button quickly in first few laps, so talking about the pitstop is no excuse. he wasnt up to the job this weekend. better luck next weekend.

With Button’s gap Mclaren really didn’t have to worry about Hamilton making the undercut in the stops, so really they could have pitted Hamilton first.
As I understand it, LH had a pit stop in hand over Perez, but lost it in the last two laps before pitting.
They could be enforcing a too strict rule in these days where the drop off in performance can be so bad. Didn’t the same thing happen in China last year, with Hamilton losing 5s on his in-lap (when Button first forgot to pit, then went into the RB box).

mercedes looks to be in trouble, their race pace is pretty much slower than all the cars except for the back markers. Schumacher was consistently losing a second a lap from the mclarens until he retired and rosberg never could match the lead cars times. The only

It looks to be a repeat of last year, except this year every other car is quicker in race pace. They could end up at the back pretty soon if they can’t sort things out.

mercedes qualifying performance gave their fans false hope. this new rear wing f-duct system they have only works when drs is activated. in qualifying they can use drs whenever they want. in the race, they can only use it in the drs activation points. so they cant use the speed advantage they have in qualifying during the race. get ready for a year of high qualifying, and lower race results.
oh, and lets not forget the bad tyre wear they have which doesnt show up during qualifying but will during the race, as it did in melbourne, and as it did all throughout preseason testing.

Im a big Hamilton fan. can’t help but feel he struggled in the car for pace but no one else seems to think that. is it just me?
and tire degradation seemed worse for Lewis than for Jb. much worse than usual

He did struggle yep. I was keeping a close eye on the time different between himself and Vettel. Vettel was clawing him in pretty rapidly before the Safety Car disrupted things. He was taking tenths off him at an alarming rate.

to me it seems this is the running order currently is:
1st/2nd mclaren or redbull depending on the track, with mclaren possibly having a qualifying advantage and being faster on low fuel. hamilton will have the advantage over button and redbull only on tracks where tyre management isnt a major factor, his weakest point.
3rd to 5th – lotus, mercedes and ferrari. mercedes in qualifying because of the f-duct activated during drs, but will fall back in race with bad tyre wear, and f-duct use only during drs zones. alonso bringing in top 6 results because of skill ahead of faster lotus and ferrari cars with inferior drivers.

6th williams
7th torro rosso
8th sauber
9th force india
I thinkg 6th to 9th will vary race to race, but with williams more often at the front, and torro rosso consistent. sauber will be incosistent, occasionly top 10, other times 15th, and force india even more inconsistent.

10th caterham
11th marussia
12th hrt

10th to 12th wont change during the year. caterham has obviously not caught the midfield yet.

Great stats. Pity about the extremely annoying ads. I have heard others complain about it but had never seen them myself. Just got 3 full screen eBay ads taking over my entire browser when trying to look at these stat pages.